Más contenido relacionado La actualidad más candente (20) Similar a Sales White Paper: Executing A Territory Sales Model (20) Sales White Paper: Executing A Territory Sales Model2. Share this White Paper! Copyright ©TheTAS Group. All rights reserved. 1
Over the last two years, the Company exceeded revenue
targets by making a successful strategy to penetrate its top-tier
enterprise accounts – the large global accounts that produce
most of the Company’s revenue. But that strategy won’t work
this year.The Sales executives reviewed the customer metrics
and realized that the enterprise accounts don’t have the growth
potential to meet the increased sales goals. It’s time to search out
new markets. In the past, the Company pretty much ignored the
mid-market.There is some real opportunity here if the sales force
could penetrate these mid-tier accounts.
Direct Selling is Unrealistic in aTerritory
The top-tier accounts are limited, but the mid-market is vast.
And because the mid-market is so vast, a direct sales approach
is unrealistic. Using a direct sales model to adequately penetrate
Executing aTerritory Sales Model
INTRODUCTION
The executives at a major software company have set
high revenue goals for the next two years. Currently
the Company sells custom and one-off financial
software to major Fortune 500 companies. But to meet
their aggressive revenue goals, they must diversify
their customer base.The Company has decided to
expand sales by defining and growing their mid-
market business.The strategy is to sell standard
versions of their 100 software titles to companies
with revenues between $100 and $500 million.
Now, it’s up to theVice President of Sales to develop
a plan to penetrate these mid-market companies.
After reviewing all the various options, theVP of Sales
decided to deploy a territory sales force to penetrate
the mid-market – a decision that will require changes
in the organization, people, processes, and systems.
Different skills, different processes –
different customers
For instance, the current sales force sells face-to-face,
dealing with executives and working with complex
decision-making processes. But the territory managers
have to manage too many accounts to sell to each one
personally.The customers are different, too.
Instead of giant global corporations with big budgets
and time, a territory sales force has to sell to businesses
that make $100 million in sales, want proven systems,
want them yesterday, and want them cheaper. In
addition to lower prices, the customers want an all-
inclusive system – they don’t want to ask five suppliers
to put together a new system. And, because these
companies are smaller, they make decisions quicker.
Why did the Company decide to deploy a territory
sales force? How should the territories be apportioned?
Should the Company convert existing account reps
into territory managers? If so, what new skills, process
and systems will they need? How do you manage
these new types of accounts?
As with any of ourWhite Papers, there will be a
big variance in the seniority and experience of
the readership. ThisWhite Paper aims to provide
something for the complete range of requirements,
but if you want to dig deeper or move wider, we urge
you to get in touch with us individually. You can do this
via email to: info@thetasgroup.com.
the mid-market would require a very high number of sales
people.TheVP of Sales at our example Company knew it was
necessary to redefine the sales approach to reach large numbers
of mid-sized accounts – without hiring large numbers of sales
people.
Instead of high touch sales reps, theVP decided to set up territory
managers to handle the mid-market accounts. Creating a
territory sales force will allow the Company to aggressively create
streams of predictable revenue from entire segments of mid-
market customers, rather than depending on one or two major
competitive wins to make the assigned sales quota.Winning a
territory is different than winning big deals.The goal is to grow
market share rather than bank on high profile competitive wins.
WHY DEPLOY ATERRITORY SALES FORCE?
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Further SegmentYourTerritory
Even though a market is segmented to create territories,
territory managers must further break their territories into
bite-sized market pieces.Territory managers use segmenting
to help them decide what pieces to go after and how to go
after them – essentially, prioritizing activities and allocating
resources. For example, if a territory includes the entire San
Francisco Bay area, then that territory manager may want to
segment the area by vertical markets or size of company.
Essentially, a manager will segment a territory based on
product offerings and market characteristics – similar to
segmenting a market into territories. Market segments are
created wherever a product offering intersects with a market
characteristic (location, account type, industry, etc.).
When the territory is broken into market segments, a territory
manager can decide how best to penetrate and cover each
group of customers – direct touch (face to face, call center,
or telephone), marketing (direct response), web, or through
partners.
WHAT DOES ATERRITORY LOOK LIKE?
Now theVP has to carve up the mid-market into territories.
How you delineate territories affects the people, processes
and systems you need in order to sell into territories.Typically,
a territory is a collection of 50 or more accounts that have
some common denominator.The most frequent methods are
to carve up the mid-market by geographical location and/or
vertical industry:
• Geographic territories are defined by some geographic
boundary.You can divide territories geographically
into as small or as large a geographic region as
you want – you may include one city or all of Latin
American.The size of the geographic area depends on
how many potential customers you have in that area
• Vertical territories are divided by industry – for
example financial services, software developers,
or telecommunications.To make a territory more
manageable, a company may wish to combine vertical
and geographic criteria. In this case, a territory might
include all telecommunications companies in Kansas
and Missouri
Although defining territories by geography or industry is
common, other criteria may be more relevant to this software
company.TheVP of Sales should consider segmenting by
other, more targeted criteria:
• Similar customer needs
• Functional divisions (human resources, information
technology)
• Account type (existing vs. target)
• Size of company (based on revenue or potential
revenue)
• The type of partner you’ll use to sell to the customer –
reseller, distributor, software vendor, etc.
• The primary competition you’ll sell against
Market
Segment
(Where
and What)
Market
(Where )
Potential
Offering
(What )
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Marketing into a territory differs from corporate marketing.
Corporate marketing provides a company with general
recognition for a specific capability.Territory marketing
must appeal to the specific needs of a segment of accounts.
If a territory consists of telecommunications companies in
Kansas and Missouri, then that territory’s marketing should
be specific to that segment.The goal is to create awareness
and interest that drive pull. Most territory managers are
inexperienced in marketing, so establishing a clear process
can help them develop and implement effective territory
marketing plans.
Relies on Partnerships
In a mid-market sales strategy, partners are necessary to cover
the territory and provide a complete solution. Customers
in the mid-market want a total solution that requires little
configuration because they don’t have the time, money, or
people to customize a solution. However, rarely does a single
vendor provide an off-the-shelf, total solution.The Software
Company may want to partner with aValue Added Reseller
(‘VAR’) to provide an integrated, complete solution to their
accounts.The territory manager will have to understand:
• Who the available partners are
• What they are capable of
• How to communicate with them to achieve mutual
goals
• How to best use these partners
To accomplish this, the territory manager will need to work
closely with the partner organization, which will hopefully
have the process and tools in place for effective Partner
Relationship Management (‘PRM’).
HOW IS SELLINGTOTHE
MID-MARKET DIFFERENT?
Uses a Multichannel Approach
When selling to the mid-market, sales professionals must
understand how to use all sales channels effectively – territory
managers will not have the time to sit down one-on-one
with all of their customers.The best approach is to develop
a multichannel strategy for territory management, which
may include direct sales, partners (resellers and alliances),
marketing, call centers, or the web. A multichannel strategy
maximizes penetration of a territory by providing customers
many ways to purchase products and services – anywhere,
anytime, and anyplace, 24x7.
Territory managers must use their resources and channels to
position their company’s capabilities quickly and clearly.They
have to show customers a picture of what the company can
offer and then provide them with several ways of obtaining
the solution. How the customer buys is less important in
this model. Selling to the mid-market is market driven,
not account or deal driven.The goal is to select, focus, and
create awareness and interest in the right segments of your
territories.
Incorporates Marketing Strategies
To sell successfully to the mid-market, territory managers
must combine marketing and sales strategies.When selling
to enterprise accounts a sales force can take a high-touch,
consultative, one-to-one approach, but in the mid-market
they have to sell one-to-many. Since they cannot physically
introduce themselves to all 200 or so customers, they will
have to use marketing techniques to obtain the customers’
immediate recognition. Marketing techniques can make a big
impact without requiring much time from the sales force.
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WHAT ARETHE COMMON
MISTAKES COMPANIES MAKEWHEN
DEPLOYING ATERRITORY SALES
FORCE?
One of the biggest mistakes companies make is treating a
territory sales force like a direct sales force. Many companies
unwittingly do this by continually talking about making
deals.Territory managers do not have time to worry about
individual deals – they must worry about creating streams
of revenue. Another common mistake is not compensating
territory managers for using channels. Unlike direct sales,
territory managers must use a multichannel strategy to
completely penetrate their territory. If you compensate on
direct sales, you only get direct sales, which will severely limit
territory growth.
Finally, many companies fail to develop an execution strategy
for the territory sales force.The territory sales force needs:
• Guidance from the corporate level
• Product strategy information
• Market focus/insight into assigned territory
• Clear rules of engagement for using a multichannel
strategy
• An understanding of available resources and how to
easily access them
WHAT ARETHE ISSUES IN CREATING
ATERRITORY SALES FORCE?
TheVP of Sales in our example Software Company is tasked
with developing a territory sales force but selling to a territory
is very different than selling to enterprise accounts.Territory
management is an entirely different process from account
management.You will have to develop and deploy processes
to guide the territory managers as they deal with the issues
involved in managing a territory, which include:
• Giving up control:Territory managers may not have
direct contact with or even direct control over many
customers.Territory managers must learn to use
multichannel strategies – the web, telesales, partners,
marketing – and learn the processes for managing
these channels
• Defining corporate priorities:Territories contain a
multitude of opportunities, so territory managers need
help deciding which opportunities are important.
Establishing structured processes for segmenting and
analyzing territories will help keep the decisions of the
territory managers aligned with corporate goals
• Developing a strategy:Territory managers have a
variety of resources to pull from and many channels
to use when taking products to market.They must
develop a strategy for penetrating territories – often
multiple strategies – that determines what resources
work best with what type of customer
• Managing time: Perhaps the most difficult thing for
a territory manager to learn is how to manage time
effectively. Should they spend their time developing
marketing programs, helping call center people
understand the territory, convincing partners to work
with them, or calling on key potential accounts?
Prioritizing their activities is critical, so prioritizing
opportunities is even more critical
Someonewhocancreatelucrativestreamsofrevenuefrom
hundredsofcustomers,managetheeffortsofemployees
thatdon’treporttoyou,organizemarketingcampaigns
withlittlesupportfromthemarketingdepartment,andtap
theresourcesofdisinterestedbusinesspartners.Andyou
mustbeabletodoallthiswithlimitedtimeandbudget.
WANTED: Territory Manager
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Align Upper Management
TheTAS Group is an expert in change execution. An
essential part of changing a sales organization – whether
it’s implementing a territory sales solution, CRM system, or a
new process for opportunity management – is gaining the
commitment of executives and managers.TheTAS Group
can help you achieve sponsorship by preparing upper
management for coaching and supporting the change.
IntegrateTerritory Processes and Systems
TheTAS Group has developed theTerritory Management
Process (‘TMP’).TMP is a practical approach for analyzing a
territory’s potential and developing a territory management
plan that maintains and grows revenue by leveraging all
available resources – branding, product marketing, resellers,
and alliance partners. Because territory management is a
multichannel sales model, it includes some direct sales, a little
marketing, and a lot of partnering. Any territory solution must
integrate into the processes and systems of other channels.
HOW CANTHE DEALMAKER
PARTNER NETWORK HELP DEVELOP
ATERRITORY SALES FORCE?
Developing a territory sales model and sales force involves six
stages:
Analyze and Design
If you are considering a territory model,The Dealmaker
Partner Network has assessment resources and experienced
consultants that can help you:
• Assess the strengths and weaknesses of your current
sales organization through sales effectiveness
assessment
• Analyze your business needs and determine if a
territory model is right for you
• Assess whether individual sales people have the
skills to manage a territory through individual skills
assessment
Process For
Creating a
Territory
Management
Organization
INTEGRATE
Ensure the territory
processes and systems
integrate with existing
processes and systems
ALIGN
Gain the commitment
of executives and
managers with the
iritiatives to change
the sales organization
INSTALL
Train the territory
managers in the new
processes and systems
MANAGE
Ensure the territory
managers are able
to manage ongoing
activities
MEASURE
Track and review the
success of the
territory solution
ANALYZE and DESIGN
Assess whether a
territory model meets
business needs and, if it
does, design the territory
management solution
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Manage theTerritory
Part of installing a territory process is ensuring that the
territory managers are willing and able to continue using
the new process. Our consultants continue to transmit and
reinforce skills and knowledge after training through field
reviews and coaching sessions, managed on the Dealmaker
platform, until territory managers and their managers are
confident in sustaining the new process. Thereafter, the sales
organization uses Dealmaker to stay true to, and coach to, the
process.
Measure the Success of theTerritory Sales Solution
Early in the implementation process, the consultants
will help set metrics and benchmarks for measuring the
success of the territory sales solution. In this stage, the Sales
Effectiveness Assessment and Individual Skills Assessment
can be administered again to determine improvement in
organization and individual alignment and readiness.
Consultants can gather the information from these tools and
deliver a report on business impact and progress, identifying
any remaining barriers to remove or best practices to
leverage. Consultants can then help customers refine and
adjust their territory processes and systems.
TheTAS Group ensures thatTMP integrates into existing
processes and systems that link and feed territories: Partner
Selection, PRM, Opportunity Management, CRM system,
Campaign Management, etc.
In addition,TMP is designed to effectively integrate with other
solutions fromTheTAS Group. For example, CHAMP Strategic
Partnering helps customers align their partner strategy with
their corporate strategy and determine the types of partners
they want to go-to-market with and where.The resulting
partner information and selection can then be used inTMP to
help territory managers cover and penetrate their territories.
Territory managers can also applyTheTAS Group’sTarget
Account Selling® (‘TAS®’) process, which helps sales people
plan and win individual opportunities.TAS can help territory
managers win the high level strategic opportunities that they
choose to pursue.
Install aTerritory Management Process
As part of implementing a territory solution,TheTAS Group
offers theTMP Program, a two-day program that will teach
your territory managers theTMP methods for developing and
managing a territory.The interactive program will prepare
territory managers and their virtual teams, to:
• Gain insight into their territory through a detailed
market analysis
• Analyze the market potential of a territory so that
territory managers match their effort to the
potential revenue
• Identify high-value sales and marketing activities
to eliminate unneeded expenditures made by
territory managers
• Leverage corporate, channel, and product
marketing programs with less effort on the part
of territory managers
• Use partners to cover territories better so that they can
expend less energy while still achieving revenue growth
• Create plans for developing relationships and increasing
revenue to guide the efforts of territory managers
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Using Dealmaker provides 21% better quota achievement
through automated, daily-use activities for your sales teams.
The unique processes required for a multichannel territory
sales model can be established and reinforced every day that
your sales team or territory manager logs on to your CRM
system. It also increases the accuracy of your forecasts and
can reinforce any classroom training pertinent to your new
challenges.
DEALMAKER IN ATERRITORY
SCENARIO
If your company is looking to institute a territory sales force,
TheTAS Group’s Dealmaker platform can easily be integrated
into your existing CRM system to help you manage, track and
report on success through your multiple channels. Through
its unique blend of intelligent applications and industry-
leading methodology, Dealmaker can automate and refine
every stage of your sales process to fit the needs of your new
territory sales force situation.
CONCLUSION
Developing and deploying a territory sales
organization involves more than assigning a number
of accounts to a sales rep.Territory management is
different than direct sales, with its own set of skills,
processes and systems.Territory management is also a
multichannel model that incorporates skills, processes
and systems from sales, partnering and marketing.
Creating a successful territory sales organization will
require substantial change in sales professionals and
the sales organization, and is best approached as a
change execution exercise. It’s the only way to quickly
embed the new sales model, the new processes and
the new systems, and start penetrating the mid-
market.
We’d be delighted to discuss your specific needs
further, and explore how Dealmaker can drive
sustained sales performance improvement in your
organization. If you wish to find out more, please
contact us at info@thetasgroup.com.
9. ABOUTTHETAS GROUP
TheTAS Group helps progressive sales organizations increase their sales velocity resulting in higher win rates, bigger
deals, shorter sales cycles, and more qualified deals in the pipeline. Our unique value is deep methodology embedded
within intelligent Dealmaker software, 100% native in Salesforce. Smart coaching, delivered just-in-time, improves
sales performance and accelerates sales results.We have changed the paradigm of improving sales effectiveness from
traditional sales training to delivering sales methodology and insights when and where the sales person is working a
sales opportunity.
For more information visit www.thetasgroup.com
Copyright ©TheTAS Group. All rights reserved.This briefing is for customer use only and no usage rights are conveyed. Nothing herein may be reproduced in any form without written permission ofTheTAS Group.